1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates generally to electronic communications for reporting, and more particularly, but not by way of limitation, to location-specific transaction reporting for vehicle parking.
2. Description of the Related Art
A “meter” can be any of various devices configured to measure time, distance, speed, or intensity, or to indicate, record, and/or regulate an amount or volume, such as, for example, the flow of a gas or an electric current. As technology has advanced, meters have also become more advanced. Meters that measure the passage of time, e.g., parking meters, typically include timer mechanisms similar to those of mechanical watches. Since these timer mechanisms had limited life spans, the parking meters were constructed with a fixed housing that was configured to receive a replaceable meter unit including the meter timer mechanism. When the timer mechanism wore out, the meter unit could be replaced. Other types of meters that can have replaceable meter units include water meters and gas meters that measure the flow of material, such as water or gas, respectively.
Many mechanical meters have been replaced by digital-based meters. Digital meter units can have longer life spans than their mechanical predecessors, but they still are replaced when they malfunction, are damaged, or even when the technology changes.
With advances in communications, e.g., wireless telecommunications, it is possible to monitor many meters remotely. For example, a group of meters can report information to a central data manager using wireless communications. The information reported can be related to financial transactions such as credit card information or periodic measures such as the amount of gas or water consumed. Meters that communicate local information are often associated with a specific geographic location. For example, a meter might be associated with locations such as a parking spot, a house, a ticket booth, a cash register, a vending machine, and so forth. The central data manager can maintain a database that associates each meter with corresponding meter information such as transactions or consumption measures.
The central data manager that receives reporting information from a local meter needs to know what meter is associated with the received reporting information. The reporting information can be associated with the proper meter by determining an identifier of the meter, such as a meter unit serial number or ID. When a meter unit is replaced, the central data manager needs to update its reporting information for the old meter with the unit ID of the new meter unit. Replacement of meter units is a relatively regular occurrence, as meter units fail or require periodic maintenance or become damaged.
Updating of meter information in the database upon meter unit replacement has typically been performed manually by entering the new meter unit ID into the database of the central data manager and manually associating the new meter unit ID with the reporting information and disassociating the old meter unit ID with the reporting information. In addition, during operation a meter unit may need to be configured with various operational parameters that determine rates and parking rules for the meter location. This operational configuring has also typically been performed manually, often on the meter unit itself. Manual data entry and configuring of the meter reduces efficiency by increasing the time to update and reduces reliability by potentially increasing the number of errors in the central data manager database and in the configuration information of the meter.
From the discussion above, it should be apparent that there is a need for more efficient and reliable updating of location-specific meter information to a data manager. The present invention satisfies this need.